Le Passant

Le Passant feels like a gentle reinterpretation of lavender—softened, smoothed, and made quietly intimate rather than aromatic or sharp. The lavender here isn’t the crisp, herbal kind; instead, it’s wrapped in a delicate powderiness that gives it a skin-like, almost nostalgic warmth. There’s a creamy undertone running through it that rounds out the composition beautifully. It doesn’t lean gourmand, but more like a velvety softness—think of the texture of fine face powder or a lightly scented lotion rather than anything edible. This creaminess blends seamlessly with the lavender, muting any sharp edges and turning it into something airy, comforting, and slightly cocooning. Overall, it is powdery, smooth, and subtly elegant, with a calm, almost contemplative aura. So in love with this fragrance!

Le Passant is a lovely lavender-centric scent. The mix of lavender and lavandin gives it a sweeter, more crystalline floral edge, and it dries down into a slightly dusty powder with a hint of vanilla. To me it’s more aromatherapy than barbershop (regardless of what the marketing says), but I also love and wear other lavender frags tagged “for men” like TF Lavender Extreme and Kilian A Taste of Heaven. I really love the smell of lavandin and the note is beautiful and very prominent in this. A very comfy and cozy scent and it’s a great bedtime fragrance!

Very much cut from the same cloth as Caron Pour un Homme, but with some of the modern smoothness of Killian's Taste of Heaven. A green, sugared, crystallized lavender at the top, bolstered by a cuddly vanilla with some coumarin smoothing it out in the background. The marigold note perhaps accounts for some of that greenness at the top. Very lovely! With notes that really play on lavender's various facets--green, sweet, powdery--it feels like a lovely three dimensional ode to the material.

Beautiful green bottle, should have been purple. Upon spraying, a burst of bergamot was predominant, and then a wave of wonderful natural lavender scent wafted through. After a while, the perfume toned down to a base of vanilla. It is not as milky and strong as Lancome Lavendes Trinanon, but it is more subdued. This is a soft and non-intrusive scent that would not assault the nose.

I'm not a lavender fan, but this fragrance is quite nice. The vanilla provides a hint of sweetness that softens the fragrance. It sits very close to the skin, however, and negates a purchase for me.

This is the most beautiful lavender fragrance I’ve smelled. It’s so delicate and feminine, addictive, ethereal... just gorgeous. There is the perfect amount of tonka, citrus and vanilla.

THE BEST lavender fragrance there is. There is a significant vanilla contribution as well. I would not change a single thing about Le Passant. The current rating is tragically low.

I don’t find this to be masculine, it’s easily unisex. It’s a green feeling lavender with a sweetness in the dry down. I really like it.

An interesting scent. It starts off bitterly green with a side of play-dough. Waxy, play-doughy and green. After a while a strong and natural vanilla/tonka note shines through and the whole scent goes from being rather dry to being moderately sweet. The latter portion of the scent is dominated by the vanilla but it maintains the waxy, dough-like charachter until the end. Interesting? Yes, absolutely! Enjoyable? It depends. Some might find this scent irresistable for its beautiful and natural vanilla mixed with waxy notes. But other might be put off by the near photorealistic play-dough note. This perfume has a lot in common with Fantome de Maules by Stora Skuggan, although this one is much sweeter. They both have the bitter green notes and the waxyness and especially the play-dough note and they are both more interesting than enjoyable. Longevity and projection are both average. All in all a nice scent but not the best from this house.

it is the LOVELIEST lavender which is generously sprinkled with citrus juice and candied I get a lot of zesty citruses, and sweet, somehow syrup-dipped lavender the only problem is that the lavender lasts for maybe 15-20mins and then for the rest of a lasting time, all that is left is vanilla. Even on paper where top notes normally last longer, the lavender disappears without a trace. It is a nice sweet vanilla extract, filtered and pure, but the lovely lavender is gone so fast and I actually do not get any resins/amyris. I was surprised that it is marketed as male, I guess because of the lavender, but again it's so fleeting and I am not sure I know many males that would fancy smelling like sweet vanilla extract...

I smelled this in Paris and couldn't stop thinking about it, so I picked up a 100ml bottle back in London while it was on sale. It sat about 50% used on my shelf for a few years, and I've completely forgotten about it until today. I'm not sure if the maceration has had any affect on it, but I must say I've fallen in love again. I do see what people mean about the slightly bitter opening (I thought the bottle went off at first), but then it settles into a beautiful comforting scent. The vanilla is just sweet enough without being cloying and the bit of lavender gives it a serene, spa like quality. Easy reach for every day, especially in the spring

It is beautiful, soft, yet fresh for every occasion and day. Unfortunately, longevity is almost non-existent, so if you like this fragrance as much as I do, keep it in your purse, because it requires re-spraying. It is extremely expensive considering longevity and sillage, but please remember you are paying for the raw, natural ingredients in lovely artisan composition. I love the brand, and I like to support the mother-and-son business. Still, Yvonne is my favorite scent by this brand.

It was just love at the-first sniff - lavender, vanilla and aromatic scent was beautiful. I used to reach out more often in autumn season. Can’t wait to use this one in a cooler evening toward the bed time. To add only cons is quite a bit different scent from a paper to skin in my opinion, it was bitterer on my skin which I slightly cannot enjoy the “middle” dried down (too much lavenders) but first and last notes were still pretty.

Opens with herbaceous gin note, a warm, creamy green settling into a dried lavender sachet with a whisper of vanilla. (A peel of lime maybe hidden somewhere?) In the dry down everything becomes a little powdery but the powder sits very close to the skin. Somehow very sexy without hitting any of the notes or smell profiles I associate with sexy.

For lavender lovers, 100% unisex. The longevity and sillage are excellent! Fresh, natural smell, very cosy. Perfect to go to bed. This French brand uses natural ingredients. 8/10 My husband and I will wear it.

My first foray into Ormaie, and I came in all soft-eyed and read, pyramid evoking a wandering soul, maybe linen shirted, aromatics and wildflowers in his pockets, bergamot zest on his fingers. And sure, it does open that way. Bergamot: crisp, organic, just-sliced, with that lovely balance of floral sparkle and mild sourness. Then lavender tumbles in like a silvery sighz Airy and herbal, yes, but also polished and almost waxy, in that fine-grained, French apothecary sort of way. I love lavender. I really do. But here... it gets lost, somewhat. Because the vanilla starts to swell, at first like a ribbon of warmth curling through the cool. Tonka-ish, a little meringue-like, pleasant enough. But quickly it turns... rubbery. The whole thing calcifies into this claggy, powdery goo, what I would first describe as coumarinic Play-Doh left out in sun. Then it hits me: boiled pencil shavings. Cedar heartwood heated to ruin. Bitter, splintery, and wrong. A stew of school supplies. Thing is! Individually, the components are fine. The lavender has pedigree, the bergamot is bright, the vanilla’s got texture. But together? It just creates a textural clash, like mismatched frequencies trying to harmonise and instead creating static. Linalool wrestling with vanillin for powder supremacy, maybe. Doesn't help that there's this weirdly rounded heliotropin mishmashed in there, too. A lesson in how not to modulate sweetness with woods. I’ll give Ormaie another chance, but Le Passant... he can pass by, thanks.

I don’t get the raging reviews. I enjoy lavender sometimes. Many people here said this is the best lavender perfume ever made. So I gave it a shot. And yes the lavender here has a strong presence from first sniff. Then I got a strong medicinal/minty type of scent. Then ANISE (the green seeds not star anise) All I smell on my skin is anise. It’s not listed so I wonder. Then it mellows down to a creamy herbal type of scent. Which is what I was hoping for. I can now tolerate it at this stage, maybe even like it.(despite the headache I’m getting). I’m beginning to find it interesting. Hmmm it has character. It’s an all glass medicine lab in the middle of the woods with lavender blooming all around. Oh wait the chemist in the white coat there (a cute smart looking young man with glasses) is brewing some mildly sweetened milk with vanilla essence and some anise.(side note: anise and milk make a tasty comfort drink. boil anise seeds in water, then strain and add milk and honey). I think I like the drydown. The sharpness mellows even more leaving a comforting clean and creamy herbal scent. I guess the chemist finished his drink and went to sleep finally thank you. It somehow does smell intelligent and luxurious though (like a minimal all white angular modern interior type of luxurious). Modern and unique. There is a mystery to it too. A “chemist meets nymph” type of situation happening here. This is only first impression might update. But probably a pass for me.

I appreciate what they are trying to do and I really love this house but sadly, for me, this is a miss. Performance is abysmal, opening is sharp in a strange way for a few minutes and dry down is soft and one dimensional. This is pleasant at best but for the price, not worth it. All they need to do is reformulate it and make it good and all issues will be solved. ;) on a side note, 2-3 sprays of ds&durga’s I dont know what as a layer really helps this perfume out immensely. On the plus side, the quality of the ingredients can not get better than this, I can state that as fact. Lavender fans will love this. It’s not easy to make all natural ingredients work but this house is doing their best to bring us something that goes against trends and I respect that.

The opening reminded me of Frizzy-Pazzy cewingum powder... Citrusy for a long time and slowly softening. A little woody and retro with vanilla, tonka, plastic dolls first and then rubber ones. Medicinal syrups... The dry finish is a nice comfortable and soft powdery reminiscent of Caron's Pour un Homme. Same vibes but this is more,sweet, medicinal and drinkable in a way. Soft, powndery and melancholy.

This smells similar to Caron pour un homme : lavender forward fragrance with a hint of vanilla in the back. The lavender smells like the lavender pouches to put in your clothing drawer : sharp, clove like smell not the smooth lavender type. Uninspiring and I dont like it.

I got this as a sample with a purchase of mine and I have to say, all I can smell is lavender pretty much! There is a tiny bit of the amyris as well, but it really is a supporting note to that lavender in there. I personally hate the smell of lavender and I have to say that this smells very hippie chic and very medicinal. It's quite strong too! It definitely leans more masculine as you'd expect and I don't think that this would suit a woman at all. It definitely smells more like an older man's cologne he'd wear at the country club or while playing golf. There's nothing remotely youthful smelling about this to my nose at all. It's quite musty and slightly stale smelling.

Starts herbal-aromatic, very lavendery, then the vanilla shows up. Sits very close to skin which doesn't make sense at this price point. Good marketing from the brand and the bottles are gorgeous, but can't justify the price or the scent itself. My thoughts of the brand are described on their other scent 'L'ivree Bleue'

Smells like a bouquet of blooming lilies.

A nice earthy herbal grounded vanilla. The tonka and amber are fluffy and soft, enhanced by the dry, raw, herbal quality of the lavender. This is lovely and the natural ingredients feel very well-balanced and inviting. I dislike most gourmands and generally avoid vanilla, but this is one of the best I have smelled, and not offensive or overbearing in the least. I did end up opting for a full bottle of Toi Toi Toi over this one; they are quite similar in dna but I found that one to be more unique. A side note- the ambery aspect of this is very much like L’Artisan Ambre Extrême. I layered that with Bucoliques de Provence and lavender essential oil for a similar effect, but honestly this is twice as good!

Here is some info from where I got my sample. It's just a copy of their website listing for this scent which I quite enjoy. I'll spend some more time with this sample for sure. Le Passant is Ormaie's most personal fragrance. It's dedicated to a man loved by both Ormaie founders: Baptiste's father, Marie's husband. Like many French fathers of his era, he wore only fougères, a barbershop-y, classically masculine fragrance genre that marries lavender to tonka bean. Ormaie's fougère is an elegantly clean, streamlined version, a respectful, affectionate modernization that never loses its charm. Perfumer: Unknown! Style: Fresh, Green Notes: Lavender, Tonka Bean, Amyris, Vanilla, Bergamot, Marigold

Beautiful perfume, gorgeous mix of lavender and vanila. Reminds me a lot of Maison Lancôme Lavandes Trianon, and since that one is discontinued I encourage its seekers to try this! Although classified as unisex, for me personally it leans into feminine category, at least on my skin. Some reviews below say its all lavender, some say all vanilla. I guess it depends on the skin. On my skin it is sweet, slightly powdery, almost gormand, charming feminine, soft lavender and french-style vanilla and tonka, rounded with other non descript notes. Natural ingredients too. Lovely!

I don't have much to add because I agree with the notes and thoughts of other reviewers. Unfortunately this one smells like pepto bismol chewable tablets to me. It's the powderiness + medicinal/herbal combo that does it. Ormaie calls this "delicate masculinity" which I agree with and I can appreciate what they are trying to do here. One of those "I appreciate this but unfortunately it smells bad to me" fragrances.

Green, herbal vanilla. It kind of reminds me of Mentos or Tic Tac candies. Soft, natural scent as it dries down, definetiely mild sweetness from the Tonka bean. This is something suited for a countryside road trip, white shirt and straw hats. For me it is neither like or dislike. Unisex all the way.

Lavender, vanilla and tonka that’s treacle sweet. This smells more like a gourmand than an aromatic.

i’m getting zero lavender. Just a medicinal vanilla that turns kind of creepy sweet

Uhhh I just wanted to say luvoxlixir phenomenal review and thank you